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Wednesday, 29 December 2010

Airsoft replica gun manufacturer, Ares, have recently begun production of another new and very interesting addition to the stable of guns now available to WW2 airsoft enthusiasts

The M3A1 Grease Gun produced by Ares is a replica of the model issued to US servicemen after 1942 as a replacement to the more costly Thompson variants and, if the images currently available are anything to go by, it's a pretty faithful copy and is sure to be a 'must have' on many players' wish lists

Two images of a genuine 'Grease Gun'

A cutaway diagram showing some of the basic internal functions

Below are some images of the Ares replica, taken from the company's own website and that of a retailer currently offering the gun for sale

The gun as shown in the official Ares advertising

The gun is described as firing at anything between 300 and 340fps. At the upper end of this range that might make it a little hot for some UK sites. It is designed to take a stick battery up to a maximum of 8.4v, and 1500mAH and, intriguingly, the battery is located inside the magazine! Yes, you did read that correctly

There you go. What did I tell you? Battery inside the magazine

The top of the magazine showing a pair of electrical contacts

Electrical contacts on the top of the magazine connect with a corresponding pair on the inside of the mag well and allow the gun to fire. An added dimension of realism, if you will, insofar as the gun can't fire without a magazine, but it will make mag changes interesting. The magazine takes 65 rounds, so lo-cap and what we have come to expect from WW2 guns, or most of them anyway. So your options are, I guess, put up with having to refill your one magazine very often or buy several batteries, which you might probably do anyway

It has an adjustable hop-up which, by all accounts, is very straightforward to use and is accessible via the hinged flap covering what would, on the real steel, be the ejection port on the right hand side of the gun

Simply lift up the flap, and there she is, a simple 'slide forwards and backwards' hop adjustment mechanism

The rather nice looking cocking lever on the original gun has, sadly, not been reproduced on the replica, however, lots of other things have including the stock, the iron sights, the quirky looking trigger and trigger guard, some of the markings, the cross hatching on the grip, and the sling points. Overall, I reckon this is a cracking looking piece of kit

There are two sling points, one just above the mag well and the other just above the grip, as per the original

A close up of the original looking markings and the welding at the business end of the barrel assemmbly

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Welcome to Simply Soldiers, a place for me to share the beauty and
artistry of collectible toy soldiers from around the world and generally
indulge my passion for toy soldiers, wargaming, airsofting and
militaria collecting, and a few other things besides.